Roses are Red
by Moonshine 369
Summary: Light is straining to write a poem for Misa for Valentine's day, so L gives him a hand. But L isn't thinking about Misa when he writes...


**A/N:**

**Please note that I'm aware that the time line or facts may be mistaken. You may point it out, but please, just assume that it doesn't apply to this story. Also, I am aware that -kun is used mostly for equals or for those slightly younger than the speaker, and that -chan is used for young girls or children. I think I used them all in the right places. Again, feel free to point it out, but that fact honestly shouldn't take away from the story...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note, or anything related to it. For God's sakes...**

* * *

_Roses are red,  
__The night sky is black.  
If you keep driving me nuts,  
You'll get a heart attack._

Crap.

That had started out as something good, honestly. If Light had absolutely no self-dignity, he would've just written some, "Roses are red, violets are blue, Misa loves Light and Light loves Misa, too," crap and been done with it. Unfortunately, he completely believed that it was unnecessary to reduce himself to such, just to get Misa to shut up. Well... when he actually considered it, it did make a bit of sense. After all, he'd give an arm and a leg to get Misa to shut up most of the time.

He crumpled up the sad scrap of paper and dropped it into the wastebasket beside his desk, and opened up another file on his computer before L had the chance to notice that Light was being useless.

On second thought... after glancing behind him at L quickly to make sure that the detective's eyes weren't wandering away from his own computer, Light reached into the wastebasket and retrieved the cheap poem. Careful to move his handcuffed hand as slightly as possible so as to not alert L, Light tore the poem into a hundred pieces and swept it back into the wastebasket. Did he really need anything else pointing him to being Kira? Just earlier on that very day, L had announced that Light was up to 15.8 percent because he had noticed Light crossing his legs at his desk. Light didn't even _want_ to ask why that had anything to do with Kira. Honestly, it seemed like L was getting very desperate... not that he wasn't enjoying watching the detective slowly but surely being reduced into insanity-- that is, if he wasn't already insane.

Recalling that, Light uncrossed his legs. Maybe that would bring him down to... 15.4 percent.

Given the circumstances, maybe not.

He couldn't focus on the files L had told him to look over. His hand had long since left the mouse and keyboard, and was hovering over the pen and notepad that lie beside his computer on his desk. He couldn't think of a single thing to write. He had to give up.

Giving up, however, still wouldn't change the fact that it was February 13th, the day before the ever-dreaded Valentine's Day: the excuse for boyfriends and husbands to spend extra time and money on their girlfriends and wives for absolutely no reason whatsoever. Obviously a female-induced holiday. And the fact remained that Misa had been "hinting" to Light that she wanted something poetic and from the heart for Valentine's Day.

If he'd remembered, he'd have picked her up a 99-cent card with some kind of mushy poetry inside and a box of chocolate (as if that girl needed any more sugar) from the drug store or something, but the thought had completely escaped his mind, and it was midnight. Not to mention that he'd been boarded up at headquarters all day, as he had been all day for the past... who could remember how long? And besides that fact, he really didn't want to bring L anywhere near chocolate and sugary Valentine's day treats, because who knows how that would turn out. And he didn't have the option of going by himself for obvious reasons.

Nor was not giving her anything an option. He didn't really want to see how angry Misa would get when she discovered he'd gotten her nothing. And he didn't want her angry with him, because allys at this time, no matter how useless, could prove vital. Even though it seemed unlikely that Misa would be useful for anything, there was a slight chance she would, and he wasn't going to squelch it simply because he was too lazy to write out a poem.

"Ryuzaki, what time do you think we'll be finished tonight?" Light asked L, swiveling around in his chair. They were facing opposite directions, their backs to each other, each at his own desk. It was the best method that involved the least hassle concerning the annoying handcuffs.

"Tired already, Light-kun?" L answered, not taking his eyes away from the screen.

_Tired of you_, Light wanted to say, but he kept his mouth shut. Honestly, he was hoping that L would fall asleep and Light would be able to work on the damn poem without having to hide it. He had forgotten the fact that L got one, maybe two hours of sleep nightly. Insomnia, Light thought, was the word for it, though L insisted that sleep was completely pointless, purely a waste of time. "No," Light finally lied. "I was just wondering."

"Hmm..." L said. "17 and a half percent, Light-kun."

"Ryu--" Light started, but quickly stopped himself, realizing that L's hinted accusations actually made sense. Kira would want investigations on himself to stop completely, wouldn't he? Light wondered if that was even the reason behind L rasing the percentage on the Light-Is-Kira-o-meter, or if he'd decided as of late that he would send Light up two or three points after everything he said.

Thinking about it, the latter seemed far more likely.

Light clicked his pen, and tried once more. Maybe something really poetic and deep would be too intelligent for her, it would fly over her head, and he'd still be off the hook without making commitment.

_I love your every_

That was as far as Light got before he remembered that he was incapable of writing anything 'poetic and deep.'

"Getting a little distracted, are we, Light-kun?"

"Gah!" Light cried out, temporarily loosing his balance but soon steadying himself. L raised an eyebrow at him, looking suspicious but only slightly irritated. Light could practically hear what he was thinking: "Up two more percentage points, Kira-kun."

"Oh, sorry, Ryuzaki," Light said, laughing as easily as he would if the situation actually had been even remotely funny. "I was just... working on something for Misa." Light wasn't honestly sure at all why he told that to L. He should've just said he was daydreaming, or something. Of course, if he'd said that, L would probably raise the percentage on the Light-Is-Kira-o-Meter for some unexplained reason, which was the last thing that Light wanted at that particular moment.

"For Amane-chan, hm? Willingly?" L said, and then turned slowly back to face his computer screen, leaving Light briefly relieved. "Well, that certainly is a change of pace."

"I-- I wouldn't actually say 'willingly,'" Light said hastily, worrying about what L, or anyone (besides Matsuda) would think of him if they had reason to think that he actually harbored even small feelings for Misa. Surely, though, even L had enough sense to know that Light knew that he was better than her. Maybe he was just being conversational... but that wasn't like L at all, now was it?

"What's the occasion?" L persisted, raising his thumb thoughtfully to his mouth.

Maybe he _was_ just being conversational. Had hell frozen over quite yet, though? There was more of a chance that L was trying to get on Light's good side, if only for a short amount of time, in order to persuade him to join L downstairs for a midnight snack. In any case, it wouldn't hurt to play along.

"It's Valentine's day tomorrow," Light admitted. "And I've been putting this off for a while now... you might've guessed that, seeing as it's midnight."

"...Yes," L said, sounding thoughtful.

What a strange guy.

Light shook his head and returned to his pen and pad, now not caring whether or not L noticed.

_Misa was never too dumb;_

_She and Light saw the world as scum._

_So they wrote down some names,_

_Gave others the blames,_

_And one day, their God-ship will come._

Damn it all. Every time he tried to write some simple, nice poem, it came out as something referred to his being Kira. The truth was, he was itching to get his hands on the Death Note again. Unfortunately, it didn't look like that was going to be a possibility any time soon.

But once again he tore the sheet of paper into hundreds of tiny scraps and emptied them into the trash can, trying to be as quiet about it as possible. Knowing L, he'd probably be able to take out each scrap and rearrange them into a poem he could read, so Light didn't want to alert him to the fact that he was disposing of anything.

And it was such a good poem, too... What a waste.

With a small sigh, Light clicked his pen again and started on a new sheet of paper.

_M is for_

Light hesitated. He'd started with the idea of just writing her name out, giving maybe an adjective to go along with each letter. M-I-S-A. Couldn't be that hard, could it? It would be flattering but not committing, and maybe he'd print out a card from online, or something. Unfortunately, he couldn't think of a single adjective that applied to her without making it too obvious it was forced. He couldn't write Majestic or Matronly, or... Murderous was more likely. Unfortunately, that didn't feel like a good idea.

Aha.

_M is for Made in Heaven._

That was good enough.

"Would you like some help?"

Light held himself back from crying out again. L was always perfectly silent, the super sleuth, and always managed to pop up on Light when he least expected it. You'd think he would've gotten used to it by then, but...

L was leaning over his shoulder, his sweet, sticky breath on Light's neck sending a chill down his spine. He wondered, as he always did, how L managed to keep his balance in that strange, legs pulled to chest position. Light would never be able to hold it for more than a few seconds.

"Uh... are you good in this department?" Light asked awkwardly.

"...I wouldn't say that I was bad. Besides, it doesn't have to be too wondrous, does it? Or did you really _want _it to be good for your Amane-chan? And anyway, the sooner I can get you back to work, the better."

"Well, no, I guess you're right." Light said. It honestly couldn't hurt to have a second hand. Maybe L would just write the whole thing for him. That'd be a relief of many kinds. He handed the recluse the pen and pad.

L sucked on the tip of the pen thoughtfully as Light silently watched him.

"How about this to start: 'I wake to you each morning, and sleep beside you each night...?'"

"That would be okay," Light said. L started writing the line down in his messy handwriting.

"...If it were true. Which it's not." Light raised his handcuffed hand, the chain clinking noisily as it shook. "Unfortunately, I wake up to _you_ each morning, L, and sleep beside you each night, too."

"That _is _true," L agreed, his eyes rolling up to the ceiling.

"Just put, 'I'd never trade you for the world, not in a million years. You help me make my way through life, past anxieties and fears,'" Light ordered. L wrote as he spoke.

"'And if I had just one wish, it'd be that you and me-- could muddle through these lives we live, together, happily.'" L continued.

Light raised an eyebrow, studying him.

"What?" L said. "Was that bad?"

"No," Light said. "No, I guess I'm just surprised that you could write that." He took in L's slightly offended face, and hurriedly continued. "I'm just saying, you're able to do anything, aren't you?"

"I suppose," L said modestly, scribbling down the new addition.

After a brief moment of thought, Light continued on. "'I just can't live without you--"

"'Love,'" L offered.

"Uh, no thanks. Not... quite what I had in mind for... her," Light said, stumbling over his own words. He wondered briefly why he cared to be polite about Misa in front of L who obviously did not favor her any more than he did.

"Whatever you say," L allowed, and Light restarted.

"'I just can't live without you, it's a thing I refuse to do-- so please say that we can be us, eternally me and you.'"

L scribbled, staying silent.

"No, no, no. That's too intimate, isn't it?" Light objected, sighing. If only Misa were easier to put up with, this whole dilemma would be a moot point, but sadly, that was not the case.

"If you're going to be that picky, Light-kun, we'll never finish this."

L was right. Light _was_ picky. He was picky and had enough pride that he'd be able to spread it through all of Japan, and still have some leftover for his overly-arrogant self. And he knew all of that, as well. He also knew, however, that there was no one who could change that about him. It was in his buildup. No detective was going to swerve his ways. L was just going to have to put up with his being stubborn.

At the current moment, however, it was late, he was tired, and he was ready to give in.

"Fine. Just write it-- maybe I'll fix it in the morning." He wouldn't.

"Is that enough to satisfy her?" L questioned.

"Maybe one more stanza."

"Alright," L murmured, his eyes turning to the ceiling again. "How's this: Cinnamon eyes glow behind sandy brown hair-- the ever growing smirk will always remain there..."

"Huh."

Light stammered, staring at L who was still staring up, his eyes fixed to the ceiling, a frown forming upon his thin lips.

"Well-- that'd be okay, I guess, if Misa's eyes and hair were brown-- and she... ever smirked at all, but those are actually more like... my... um... traits," Light said, his voice growing more and more quiet as the sentence progressed.

"Oh," L said, laughing humorlessly, finally tearing his eyes away from the ceiling. "I guess I got carried away-- I mean..."

Carried away? L got carried away? Thinking about... _Light?_

"I mean-- that is, I got the two of you confused... maybe... or..." L's voice trailed off, trying to think of something that wouldn't incriminate him but obviously coming up short.

"Don't... worry about it," Light said, taking the pen and pad from L and writing in his neater, more practiced handwriting what L had dictated. "I'll just use that, except for change the hair and eye color, and change _smirk_ to, I don't know, _love_?" He looked back up to L. "How does that sound?"

"Wrong," L said, quietly.

Light stared up at him, and then chuckled, nervously.

"We can't be picky, now can we, Ryuzaki?" he joked, although he knew perfectly well that that was _not_ what L had meant.

"No," L continued answering, no matter how pointless it was. His voice sounded timid and frightened, and was nearly impossible to hear. His eyes were now fixed on his bare feet. "No, no we can't."

Light allowed his eyes to linger on L for another few seconds before he turned his attention back to the note pad, his mind still buzzing with questions that would probably never be answered. Within a few seconds, he had finished writing L's addition, unsure if he would present the last piece to Misa or not. He was unsure if he thought he wanted to part with the simple, probably meaningless words so soon.

But then, judging by the expression on L's face, the words weren't as meaningless as Light imagined.

"Well, Ryuzaki, I actually am pretty tired now. What do you say to turning in for the night?" Light continued.

"Okay," L said, standing up and pocketing both of his hands, causing the handcuff chain to tug at Light's wrist. Light followed suit, careful not to let his chair bump into L as he pushed it out from under the desk.

"But it's sending you up to... 18 percent."

Light sighed, but he didn't feel like fighting it at the moment. He silently leaned over, shuffled a few of his papers into a pile, and led L out of the room.

There was nothing Light could do about it. L was a strange guy.

He was also, however, an exceptional poet.

* * *

**There once was a writer, not half bad,  
Even small little things could make her glad.  
She typed up a fic  
And just take time, quick  
To review so that she won't be sad.**

**Bahah! I'm a poet too!**

**I thought NearxMatt was satisfying to write... obviously I'd never written a good, even slight LxLight. **

**This is dedicated to LawlietxRinoa, a great friend, and to all of my awesome readers. Thanks guys. Please review! **


End file.
